UC Law Lecture Explores How First, Second Amendments Interests Enhance Personal Liberty

The University of Cincinnati College of Law will host Ian Ayres, the William K. Townsend Professor of Law at Yale Law School, who will present "Government as a Platform" as his keynote address for the Cincinnati Project on Law and Business. CLE: (1) available for attorneys.

About the Lecture

: People often conceive of government as the “mandatory” or “prohibitor” in chief.  But technological advances allow for government to create platforms where individuals can come together in new ways to make common cause.  In this lecture, Professor Ayres will, among other things, explore how a no guns registry and a voluntary taxation referendum could make progress on important and difficult social issues.

This lecture addresses the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and whether individuals can voluntarily waive those rights.  It discusses the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which allows individuals to opt to restrain themselves from future gun ownership.  The talk will explore how Second Amendment interests and First Amendment association interests can enhance the liberty of individuals.

About the Speaker

:  Ian Ayres is a lawyer and an economist. He is the William K. Townsend Professor at Yale Law School, the Anne Urowsky Professorial Fellow in Law, and a Professor at Yale's School of Management.  Professor Ayres has been a columnist for Forbes magazine, a commentator on public radio’s Marketplace, and a contributor to the New York Times' Freakonomics Blog. His research has been featured on PrimeTime Live, Oprah and Good Morning America and in Time and Vogue magazines.

Professor Ayres has published 11 books (including the New York Times best-seller, Super Crunchers) and over 100 articles on a wide range of topics. His latest book is Carrots and Sticks: Unlock the Power of Incentives to Get Things Done. In 2010, he also published Lifecycle Investing (with Barry Nalebuff).

Born and reared in Kansas City, Missouri, he received his BA (majoring in Russian studies and economics) and JD from Yale and his PhD in economics from M.I.T. Professor Ayres clerked for the Honorable James K. Logan of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has previously taught at Harvard, Illinois, Northwestern, Stanford and Virginia law schools and has been a research fellow of the American Bar Foundation.